Royal Flash | |
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Directed by | Richard Lester |
Screenplay by | George MacDonald Fraser |
Based on | the novel by George MacDonald Fraser |
Produced by | Denis O'Dell David V. Picker |
Starring | Malcolm McDowell Oliver Reed Florinda Bolkan Alan Bates |
Cinematography | Geoffrey Unsworth |
Production company | Two Roads Productions |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $US4,040,000 [1] |
Royal Flash is a 1975 British adventure comedy film based on the second Flashman novel (of the same name, 1970) by George MacDonald Fraser. It stars Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Additionally, Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez. Fraser wrote the screenplay and the film was directed by Richard Lester.
Though it received good reviews for its performances and action scenes, Royal Flash had only a limited release in cinemas.
The film begins with Flashman making a patriotic speech to the boys of Rugby School framed by a giant Union Jack, in a scene which appears to be a parody of the opening sequence in the 1970 film Patton . There is a brief flashback to the events of the original Flashman , with the head of Rugby School (Michael Hordern) recounting Flashman's exploits in Afghanistan.
The film then follows the plot of the book, which itself largely derives from The Prisoner of Zenda . Flashman is forced by Otto von Bismarck to impersonate a Danish prince, who is about to marry a German princess (Britt Ekland). Bismarck exacts this retribution partly in revenge for his humiliation at the hands of Flashman in London; Flashman stole Bismarck's mistress Lola Montez, then manoeuvred him into boxing against a professional boxer, John Gully (played by Henry Cooper), at a house party. Bismarck does not wish the Princess to marry a Dane, since this may tilt the balance on the Schleswig-Holstein Question and interfere with his plans for a united Germany. [2]
Flashman , the first novel of The Flashman Papers series, had been published in 1968 and attracted the interest of film producers. At one stage Richard Lester was to direct, but the necessary financing could not be secured. However, Lester enjoyed the novel and then hired George MacDonald Fraser to adapt The Three Musketeers for two successful films in the early 1970s. This enabled Lester to obtain finance for a Flashman film.
Royal Flash was the second Flashman novel, and had been published in 1970. The New York Times said "Mr MacDonald Fraser has considerable narrative skill... most ingeniously plotted and often hilariously funny." [3]
Lester said he did not want to film the first novel as "after putting so much work into it originally, I felt that I'd already made the film, even though it had never reached the shooting stage. It was dead." [4] Diabolique argued the second novel was chosen for filming as opposed to the first because it would be less expensive, and the basic storyline had been successfully used before. [5]
The film was one of the first produced by executive David Picker following his resignation from being head of United Artists in 1973. [6]
In 1969 John Alderton had been cast as Flashman but David Picker wanted a better known actor in the lead. Malcolm McDowell was cast. [7]
Lester did not want the film to look too close to the Musketeers movies so he used a new production designer and cinematographer. Just prior to filming, Picker and United Artists withdrew finance, but Twentieth Century Fox - who had distributed the Musketeers films - stepped in instead. [8]
The film was shot partly on location in Bavaria. [9] Lester said the film "was hell to make, not because of the actors - I liked the cast very much - but let's say I was less happy with the crew. I think Germany was a difficult place to film in." [10]
It introduced actors Bob Peck, and Christopher Cazenove.
The film was cut from 118 minutes to 102 minutes prior to release. Among the scenes lost were flashbacks to Flashman's life at school, and the entire role of Roy Kinnear. [11]
The Observer said the film "leaves one breathless not so much with enchantment as with boredom". [12] The Wall Street Journal said it was "disappointing". [13]
Lester said the film was "generally ignored and considered to be a substandard version of The Three Musketeers. It was perhaps a poor choice of mine to pursue because it was a period film, a comic romp with some serious overtones and a lot of swordplay and it did come after Musketeers which was a well loved piece of subject matter." [14]
Lester also felt "that equivocal anti hero wasn't easy to take. They wanted a real hero, a hero that was a bounder as well as a hero. And Malcolm McDowell was absolutely 100% bounder - the sleaze was coming through to the film." [15]
Diabolique magazine argued the film suffered from miscasting in key roles, lack of voice over and for perhaps not being the best introduction to Harry Flashman for cinema audiences. [5]
Despite the film's disappointing reception, Lester said it was one of the few films he made that he liked watching again. [14]
A UK DVD and Blu-ray was released on 20 May 2013 by Odeon Entertainment. [16] Twilight Time released the film on a limited edition Blu-ray disc in 2013.
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld, better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Gräfin von Landsfeld. At the start of the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, she was forced to flee. She proceeded to the United States via Austria, Switzerland, France and London, returning to her work as an entertainer and lecturer.
Sir Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character created by Thomas Hughes (1822–1896) in the semi-autobiographical Tom Brown's School Days (1857) and later developed by George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008). Harry Flashman appears in a series of 12 of Fraser's books, collectively known as The Flashman Papers, with covers illustrated by Arthur Barbosa and Gino D’Achille. Flashman was played by Malcolm McDowell in the Richard Lester 1975 film Royal Flash.
The Prisoner of Zenda is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order for the king to retain the crown, his coronation must proceed. Fortuitously, an English gentleman on holiday in Ruritania who resembles the monarch is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an effort to save the unstable political situation of the interregnum.
Richard Lester Liebman is an American retired film director based in the United Kingdom.
Britt Ekland is a Swedish actress, model and singer. She appeared in numerous films in her heyday throughout the 1960s and 1970s, including roles in The Double Man (1967), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968), Machine Gun McCain (1969), Stiletto (1969) and the British crime film Get Carter (1971), which established her as a sex symbol. She also starred in several horror films including the British horror film The Wicker Man (1973), and appeared as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
George MacDonald Fraser was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman.
John Alderton is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in Upstairs, Downstairs, Thomas & Sarah, Wodehouse Playhouse, Little Miss, Please Sir!, No, Honestly and Fireman Sam. Alderton has often starred alongside his wife, Pauline Collins.
Juggernaut is a 1974 British crime suspense film starring Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, and Anthony Hopkins. The film, which was directed by Richard Lester, was largely shot on location aboard the TS Hamburg in the North Sea. It was inspired by real events aboard QE2 in May 1972 when Royal Marines and Special Boat Service personnel parachuted onto the ship because of a bomb hoax.
The Three Musketeers (also known as The Three Musketeers (The Queen's Diamonds)) is a 1973 swashbuckler film based on the 1844 novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is directed by Richard Lester from a screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, and produced by Ilya Salkind. It stars Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, and Richard Chamberlain as the titular musketeers, with Raquel Welch, Geraldine Chaplin, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Charlton Heston, Faye Dunaway, Christopher Lee, Simon Ward, Georges Wilson and Spike Milligan.
The Return of the Musketeers is a 1989 film adaptation loosely based on the novel Twenty Years After (1845) by Alexandre Dumas. It is the third Musketeers film directed by Richard Lester, following 1973's The Three Musketeers and 1974's The Four Musketeers. Like the other two films, the screenplay was written by George MacDonald Fraser.
Flashman is a 1969 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the first of the Flashman novels.
Royal Flash is a 1970 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the second of the Flashman novels. It was made into the film Royal Flash in 1975 and remains the only Flashman novel to be filmed.
Flash for Freedom! is a 1971 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the third of the Flashman novels.
Flashman and the Tiger is a 1999 book by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eleventh of the Flashman books.
Petulia is a 1968 British-American drama film directed by Richard Lester and starring Julie Christie, George C. Scott and Richard Chamberlain. The film has a screenplay by Lawrence B. Marcus from a story by Barbara Turner and is based on the 1966 novel Me and the Arch Kook Petulia by John Haase. It was scored by John Barry.
Lola Montès is a 1955 historical romance film and the last completed film of German-born director Max Ophüls. Based on the novel La vie extraordinaire de Lola Montès by Cécil Saint-Laurent, the film depicts the life of Irish dancer and courtesan Lola Montez (1821–1861), portrayed by Martine Carol, and tells the story of the most famous of her many notorious affairs, those with Franz Liszt and Ludwig I of Bavaria. A co-production between France and West Germany, the dialogue is mostly in French and German, with a few English-language sequences. The most expensive European film produced up to its time, Lola Montès underperformed at the box office. However, it had an important artistic influence on the French New Wave cinema movement and continues to have many distinguished critical admirers. Heavily re-edited and shortened after its initial release for commercial reasons, it has been twice restored. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America by The Criterion Collection in February 2010.
Machine Gun McCain is a 1969 English-language Italian crime film directed by Giuliano Montaldo and starring John Cassavetes, Britt Ekland, Peter Falk, Gabriele Ferzetti, and Florinda Bolkan. Cassavetes' spouse and regular collaborator, Gena Rowlands, appears in a supporting role. The film is based on the Ovid Demaris novel Candyleg, adapted by Montaldo, Mino Roli, and American playwright Israel Horovitz. It premiered at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or.
Salome, Where She Danced is a 1945 American Technicolor Western drama film directed by Charles Lamont and starring Yvonne De Carlo, Rod Cameron, and Walter Slezak. The film follows the adventures of a dancer in 19th-century Europe and the United States. It is loosely based on the story of Lola Montez. Choreography was by Lester Horton.
The Light's on at Signpost is a memoir from novelist and screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser covering his various adventures in screenwriting as well as essays on the state of then-contemporary Britain.
The Flashman Papers is a series of novels and short stories written by George MacDonald Fraser, the first of which was published in 1969. The books centre on the exploits of the fictional protagonist Harry Flashman. He is a cowardly British soldier, rake and cad who is placed in a series of real historical incidents between 1839 and 1894. While the incidents and much of the detail in the novels have a factual background, Flashman's actions in the stories are either fictional, or Fraser uses the actions of unidentified individuals and assigns them to Flashman. Flashman is a character in the 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's School Days; Hughes' version of the character is a bully at Rugby School who is expelled for drunkenness. The character was then developed by Fraser, and appeared in the 1969 novel Flashman. Fraser went on to write a total of eleven novels and one collection of short stories featuring the character.